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Syllabus

Course Description

Social and Behavioral Foundations of Primary Health Care aims at providing you with the knowledge and skills needed to diagnose (understand) community, individual, and organizational behaviors and change processes in developing countries and in cross-cultural settings as a foundation for planning culturally appropriate primary health care (PHC) in the context of the ecological model of health behavior.

Course Objectives

After completion of this course, you will be able to do the following:

Outline the contributions of social and behavioral science theory in the planning and implementation of PHC programs.

Apply relevant social and behavioral theories to diagnose and understand individual, social network, organizational, community, and policy-maker behaviors associated with the planning, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance of community-based primary health care programs.

Identify the factors that promote and inhibit community involvement in PHC program development and implementation, and outline indigenous management strategies to sustain PHC at the community level.

Course Philosophy

Graduate education is a self-directed approach to learning. Thus, the instructor is more of a resource than a vessel from which knowledge is poured. This means that the student and the instructor are engaged in a partnership that fosters active learning. Because there is a sizable amount of information to cover in only a term, all parties must share the responsibility for learning. It is largely through the process of self-discovery that new concepts are internalized.

Course Format

The course is based around the ecological model that views health behavior in broader social, political, cultural, and economic contexts. Each module explores a different level of the ecological model.

Each week consists of lectures and lab assignments. For each lab assignment, you're encouraged to work together in assigned groups to informally discuss lab topics. Several days before each lab assignment is due, the class will meet online in a LiveTalk session to discuss the lab assignment. Please come prepared to ask questions and initiate discussion.

Lab Assignments

There are seven lab assignments during the course, which constitute 100% of your grade.

Most labs contain both a small group component plus an individual component. In these instances, the groups will first discuss the topics, sharing experiences and ideas; then members will individually write up the assignments to be submitted via email a few days later. Two of the seven labs will be conducted solely as group efforts. You will receive group assignments during the first week of class. All groups will be formed with an effort to put together people in same time zone to make communications easier. You are encouraged to use email, DED Messenger (live chats with audio), the BBS, or any other communication mechanism to conduct group work.

All labs are accessible on the first day of the course so that you can plan ahead and work flexibly to complete the assignments, if you would like to, according to your and your group's optimal pacing. All labs, though, are tied conceptually to the lectures, so it is ideal to review the corresponding lecture material before completing the labs.

The goal of small group work in the labs is for you to share your knowledge and skills with your fellow group members, and for all group members to benefit from the mutual sharing. For this to optimally take place, each group member should do the following:

Punctually attend group sessions as scheduled (DED Messenger and chats in LiveTalk area as scheduled by groups)

Late policy: We recognize that people will experience personal, work-related or other problems that make it difficult to submit assignments on time. If you experience such problems, please notify us BEFORE the deadline for a particular assignment and give us an estimated submission date. Late assignments without such notification will be docked 1 point for each day late.

Time Commitment

The course evaluations submitted by students during the most recent offering of this course (Summer term Academic Year 2003-04) indicated that successfully completing the course involved a range of time commitments, as follows: